Silicon carbide refractory



Patented June 11, 1935 res ' FHQE si rcoN CARBIDE REFRACTORY Raymond 0. Banner and Henry N. Bauinann, Jr.,

Niagara Falls, N. Y.,

assignors to The Carborundum Company, Niagara Falls, N. Y., a.

corporation of Pennsylvania N Drawing.

Application January 28, 1932, Serial No. 589,527

Claims. (01. 106-9) Our invention relates to refractory articles, such as brick, recuperators, furnace linings, cements, and the like, and particularly to refractories made from silicon carbide and to the meth- 5 0d of producingsame. i

This application is a continuation in part of acopending application by the same inventors and having theserial No. 269,075,-filed April 11,

1928. The said application 'No. 269,075 claimed 10 silicon carbide refractory articles and a bond therefor, the bond being inert under reducing conditions at a temperature of at least 1300 C.

Silicon-carbide is the best conductor of heat commercially availableforuse at temperatures above 1100 C., the heat resistant alloys, such as chrome iron and similar refractory alloys, having an upper limit of about 11009 C. when their useful'life is considered.

In silicon carbide refractories as ordinarily 50 made the silicon carbide is bonded with materials which (after the brick is burned even if not before) contain a major proportion of silica. Clays, silicate of soda, compounds or mixtures of silica and alumina,'and fine silicon carbide which oxidizeszto. silica upon burning unless protected in some Way, are representative of the bonds regularly used. Such siliceous bonds are destroyed by reaction with reducing gases at high temperatures, and as aresult the refractory is disrupted or at best left without bond around the individual particles to protect them from oxidation on a subsequent-furnace cycle. Such subsequentoxidation produces a new supply of silica which is in turn broken down when thefurnace gases are again reducing, and the vicious cycle continues to the point where the refractory is totally unfit for further use. The fact that refractories made from granular materials are all more or less permeable to gases renders the effect just de- 0 scribed all the more severe as disintegration takes placethroughout the whole body of the refractory rather than merely on the outer faces.

In patents to F. J. Tone, No. 992,698 and No. 1,013,700, there is disclosed another type of sili- 5 con carbide refractory made from silicon carbide without the use of any foreign bonding material. This type of refractory is very costly to manufacture, and, although it is more resistant toreducing conditions at high temperatures than the first type by reason of the absence of any siliceous bonding material, its porosity exposes the silicon carbide to oxidation.

Prior to the work of the present applicants the phenomena causing destruction of the bonded i refractories seem not to have been generally recognized. When we had determined the cause we searched for means to overcome the trouble, and have discovered such means in the form of bonds which. coat the silicon carbide grains and protect them from oxidation and which are not 5 disrupted by reducing. atmospheres or by reduction by the silicon carbide itself at temperatures up to about 1500 C., this temperature being the limiting value which is encounteredfinany ordinary furnace. Refractories so bonded :are thus 10 superior to either the bonded refractories hitherto produced or the recrystallized type in thatthey are inert to both oxidizing and reducing condi-' tions. x

- The refractory material made in accordance 15 with the present invention is especially applicable for use in recuperators, radiating combustion units of the'Cannon type, muffles, tunnel kilns, enameling furnaces, coke ovens, zinc retorts, and infact, in any place where a refractory is required to have a high heat conductivity between temperatures of 1000 C. and 1500 0., at which temperatures, metallic heat conductors do not give a comparable service. 7

As means of forming a refractory which shall be resistant to both oxidizing and reducing conditions, we find a number of-bonds to be suitable. These are composed in some cases of a single compound and in others of a mixture of materials, but all have in common the ability to resist reduction when admixed with silicon carbide and to protect the silicon carbide from substantial oxidation.- Many of these bonds contain an alkaline earth compound in some form and all are free or substantially free of silica and soften or mature at temperatures between 1200 C. and 1600 C. so that when admixed with silicon car-T hide in suitable proportions they set to form a serviceable refractory on firing to kiln temperatures from 1250 C. to 1450 C.

Examples of bonds which can be used and their maturing temperatures follow:

Maturing Comp temperature 1400 C. 1600 C.v 1400 C. 14001500 O.

Certain of these bonds in addition to being 55 resistant to reduction, exhibit an additional desirable characteristic in that they are continuously maturing bonds as described in our copending application, Serial No. 630,494 filed August 26, 1932 as a continuation of our earlier applications Nos. 268,364 and 349,739 filed April 7, 1928 and March 26, 1929 respectively. These continuously maturing bonds are that a portion thereof softens at a: temperature low. enough to cause the bond to protect the silicon" carbide against oxidation while' the refractory is being burned, and the remaining portion dissolves progressively in the softened portion as the temperature is raised, thereby'preventing the bond from becoming highly fluid under heat and.

retaining its protective value over a'very wide temperature range. I w I The bonding materials should be thoroughly pulverized before use. Those containing. more. than a single ingredient may be sintered r fritted and then pulverized in order to insurethein maturing promptly in the lower-range of kiln' temperatures. While the proportion of bond to grain is not particularly icritical the best results are secured with between 5 and. .of bond by weight, 10% being a fair. average. The mixture of fluorite andchemically: precipitated; calcium fluoride imparts acertainldegree. of plasticity to the mixwhich renders it easy to work with.-

Incarrying out the invention according to our preferred practice,we use 16. and finer mesh: sili con carbide. grain.' Theproper amount of bond is added to the grain and the: whole thoroughly mixed in a mixer of the kneader type, or in any type. of mixer whichwill thoroughly mix the bond and the grain. An inert filler, such as finely crushedfused aluminum oxide, may also be mixed with the mass for the purpose-'ofincreasing the density of the final product; We may or-may not use a temporary binder such: as glucose; dex-;

trin, glutrin, .etc., which is burned out and total.

1y eliminated in the first firing of the refractory. vAfter the mix has been madeit is dry pressed: under extremely heavy pressure. While wepre fer,'.esp ecially. for bricks and special forms and shapes, to have a dry mix using: a" minimum amount of water, wehavefound that, whenusing our invention for plastic refractories or in cement form, a relatively wet mixture is necessary.

\ After the bricks or shapes have been formed,- they are fired to mature the bond inany suitablefiurnace such for instance as an ordinary periodic or tunnel kilnwhere temperatures of 1450 C obtain. The firing should be soconducted asto .J avoidexcessive oxidation-of the siliconcarbide at temperatures belo-w that at which the: bond matures to protect the grain. This can be donefor example by maintaining ,a non-oxidizing kiln' atmosphere while the temperatureisbeingraised' through the range in which silicon carbide oxi dizes and below the temperature: at wh-iehthe bond matures. f f Silicon carbide bricks. and forms containing these bonds remain unaffected when heated up to 14O0 ..and. 1500 C. and. even in so'mecases the bricks remain unaffected at temperatures of 1600 C.-in an atmosphere containing ashiglr as of carbon-monoxide for a-periodj off frorri il' to 12? hours, whereas ordinary sili'co'n: carbide brick and other brick bonded inpartor' i'ni-wh'o'le' by silicates, such as fire clay brick, silica brick chrome brick, etc., are disintegrated because of the destruction of the siliceous bond. In addition to articles bonded in accordance with our invention, only recrystallized silicon carbide which contains no bond other. than silicon carbide itself, as disclosed in said Tone patent, has

been; found able to withstand this; treatment. Another important characteristic of the bonds which we use is that they wet the silicon carbide grains thus forming a protective coating for'the grains which; will protect the individual grains from any attack by gases to which the refractory is exposed. Bondswhich we propose to use, in

addition t'o' lo'eirig highly resistant to oxidizing conditions at extremely high temperatures, produce a high apparent density in the completed article When" theproportion of various grit sizes .of silieem carbide is adjusted to give a dense mix,

usingpractices which are well known to those familiar with the refractory art. The minimum apparent density for a silicon carbide; refractory should be of the order of 2.3 or greater, and suchan: apparent density can besecured by the use oil the bonds herein specified. By the use of the bonding material and an inert filler, a; very high apparent density is secured. The highapparent density reduces the permeability of the mass and increases the mechanical strength.

.By' theifuseof silicon" carbide in combination with a, binder, suclr as-onezof the alkaline earth: containing binders herein; disclosed, or theo'ther' binders herein noted, a refractory articleis' s'e-- cured of extremely low. permeability, its permeability any direction being less than 250 units, the unit being determined according to the m'eth-- od disclosed in U. 8 Patent No; 789,131 to Ben-- ner and Easter,.-issued' January 13, I931, for a; re-' fractory article and furnace lining made there from. a

- While we have described'particular'bindersand the method of mixing and burning, itwillbe'u-n derstoodthat this is merely by way. ofillustration and that various; changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation: at our. invention and under the scope of the appended;

claims;

We claimz; r

. L. A: refractory article comprisingsilicorrcar bidje anda-bondcontaining calcium fluoride.

21 A refractory article comprising a mass of. siliconca'rbi'de grains and: a binder; said. binder: comprising a mixture of analkaline earth fluoride and: an alkaline earth phosphate y 3-. Arefr-actory' article comprising; a. mass of silicon: carbide grainsand a binderc'ontainin'g a; mixture of, fluorite and bone ash, saidi article beingnon-reactive under reducing conditions upto approximately 1600 C;

. 4. A=refractory article composed of silicon: carbide grains and a binder,-:the binder comprising a. member ofithe group or compounds consistingof the'fluorides andchlorides ofalkaline earth metals Y 5a, A. refractory article comprised of ref-rectory carbide grains: anda binder stable und'e'r reduciingcond-itions at a temperature of at lea-st 1'300" and: in.- which an: alkaline earthfiuori'de is a con-'- stituent of thebinder. 

